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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. fork — in a road
  3. file — a line of people
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — money
  6. firm — a company
  7. land — to come down
  8. cap — a hat
  9. wind — moving air
  10. capital — a city
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. firm — steady
  15. land — ground
  16. cap — of ice
  17. lie — to recline
  18. file — a document
  19. land — a country
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. file — a tool
  24. cap — a lid

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com